Another exec joins Motorola exodus

Ex-cell division chief Stu Reed latest to exit

March 08, 2008|By Wailin Wong, TRIBUNE REPORTER

The revolving door kept spinning at Motorola Inc. on Friday, with the former president of the mobile devices division leaving the company one month after ceding his position to Chief Executive Greg Brown.

Stu Reed has decided to step down effective immediately, Motorola said in a brief statement. Reed ran the handset division for less than a year before Brown took direct control of the unit at the beginning of February.

The company is searching for a full-time mobile devices head that can turn around a business suffering from an anemic product lineup and declining market share. Motorola is considering splitting the handset unit from its other businesses.

At an investor conference in California on Monday, Brown acknowledged that Reed "inherited a very difficult situation." The handset unit "needed more help and more hands-on experience, so I assumed that responsibility," Brown said.

Neither Brown nor Reed was available for comment Friday. Reed's departure follows that of the company's chief marketing officer, Kenneth "Casey" Keller, who left Motorola last week. The company confirmed Keller's exit Thursday.

Since Brown took over as CEO in January, succeeding Edward Zander, he has hired a new chief financial officer and head of human resources.

Brown told analysts at the conference that he is seeking fresh talent in product development, software and marketing.

Former cell phone chief Ron Garriques jumped to Dell Inc. in February 2007. Reed, who had joined Motorola in April 2005 to head supply chain operations, took over the handset division from two interim co-leaders after Garriques' departure. Before coming to Motorola, Reed spent more than two decades at International Business Machines Corp.

"We appreciate Stu's many contributions to Motorola and wish him the best in the future," Brown said in the statement.

Motorola stock shed 12 cents, to $9.82, on the New York Stock Exchange.